Women, citizenship and European Community Law: The gender implications of the free movement provisions

Abstract

This paper explores the role of the European Community (EC) in the promotion of gender equality for women and men. It notes the contribution of the EC to developments in the equal opportunities field in spite of limited competence and political opposition. Whilst such developments are of considerable interest to women, the tendency to focus attention on a limited area of law may marginalise the debate on gender equality and detract concern from the evolution of more fundamental rights determining the nature of an evolving European citizenship. Although not explicitly concerned with gender, the free movement of persons constitutes one of the four “fundamental freedoms” associated with the European Community. The extension of a framework of social rights under these provisions has been said to mark a trend towards the realisation of European citizenship. These rights have been consolidated and extended into the political sphere with the ratification of the Treaty on European Union. Community nationals now have the legal status of “Citizens of the Union” (article 8 EC). The key concern which this paper seeks to address is whether the evolution of such citizenship rights, derived from employment status, effectively institutionalises a dependent and inferior status for women of the European Union.